smell emanating from bathroom

It's quite common in Spain for the bathrooms to smell when the property has not been occupied for a while.

When you leave the property always keep all doors open for air to circulate.

The plumbing is not as good as UK, often they do not always have U bends on showers/sinks/baths to stop the smells coming up.  Best for now is to clean the toilets and put bleach down and keep running the water  down the plug holes and flush the toilets regularly even when not using. In time the smell will diminish. ...no need for a plumber.

Air fresheners help too. The supermarkets sell nice perfumed floor cleaner's and toilet cleaners. Keep plugs in sinks and baths when not in use and place hair traps over the shower hole...this also stops any stray cockroaches coming up the pipes.

Hope this helps.

Yes. Oops LOL

As for your Cockroach fear..you are not alone, I think we all feel the same. I forgot to say that if you save up your corks from the wine bottles, they are very handy to push into the overflow holes of sinks and bidets to stop cockroaches coming in.

Also if you don't have Mossie nets on the windows and doors and vents, it's worth fitting them as they don't just stop mosquitoes & other insects but also Cockroaches from getting in. 

Also keep a tin of ORO handy and spray round all external doors and air vents every few months.

These links /topics below have been put together for newbies. Although they are in our Quesada forum, much of the information is helpful for all areas.

https://www.talkquesada.com/safety-security-information-and-property-in-spain-hints-and-tips-f78/security-tips-for-moving-into-your-new-property-in-quesada-t1399.html

https://www.talkquesada.com/safety-security-information-and-property-in-spain-hints-and-tips-f78/tips-for-bed-linen-and-towels-for-property-in-spain-t1791.html

This info below is for holiday home owners really but could be helpful if going on holiday or back to UK for a while:

https://www.talkquesada.com/safety-security-information-and-property-in-spain-hints-and-tips-f78/tips-for-when-leaving-your-holiday-home-for-period-of-time-t1774.html

Hi Pete

Thank you very much for your help and your prompt reply. It's so nice to know there are people out there. The house is feeling a bit more like a home from home now  I took your advice re flushing the loo and putting copious amounts of drain cleaner and bleach down.and the smell in the downstairs loo has very much dispersed.

I think I confused you about the Air Con, it wasn't that which was making the smell but it seemed really cold the first night so I had both the Air Con and the small convector heater on. I think this caused the air to circulate and  meant I became more aware of the smell in a way  I hadn't been on my many visits to the house before actually moving in. On the down side I have seen two cockroaches ugh. Upstairs on the solarium.  As soon as I saw them I shut the doors upstairs.  I hope its rare for them to come indoors as that's where I'm sleeping.

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Julie

We had the same problem which is caused by lack of u bends on Spanish plumbing.  We found the best answer is to either take the toilet out and put back in on a bed of silicone or, as we did, silicone between toilet and floor ALL the way around the base of the toilet (including all the way around the back of it.

Maybe try caustic soda first over night then boiling water. May be because it’s not been used regularly 

Firstly, you DO NOT need a plumber!

Others have said about running water into your bathroom items, Sink, Shower, Bidet and even flush the Toilet.

Someone mentioned there being no u-bends installed, which may be correct in some cases, however that is not strictly true. We are in Spain, its hot, the evaporation of the water which remains in the u-bend / trap is faster than in the UK, plus if the property is left unused for a period of time this will always happen.

The u-bend / trap is designed to a) keep odours away, b)stop insects crawling in from the waste system and c) catch items we drop down the plugholes by mistake! (OK, the last one may be a bonus rather than design criteria!)

The bottom line is, run water into all the sanitaryware and the odour will pass. If you wish, you can add bleach, disinfectant, toilet duck etc and soda crystals also help. Try and avoid stronger acids though and I personally would avoid caustic soda as it will affect the pipework over time.

Hope it helps

We moved in here last month and have noticed a sewer like smell from the bathroom. We thought it was because the apartment was unused for months. The local hardware store man said it's because they don't use u joints in the toilet or tub and the only solution is a total renovation. We really don't want to tear up the whole bathroom, it's expensive!!. I'm sensitive to smells and am getting nauseous over this entire predicament. Any suggestions besides air fresheners?